James Franklin Dempsey (May 27, 1925 – June 1, 2013) was an American college and professional football player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

and lineman in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL) for six seasons in the 1950s. Dempsey played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

of the NFL and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

and

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

of the CFL.

Early years

Dempsey was born in

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner ...

in 1925.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Frank Dempsey
Retrieved March 8, 2011. He attended Miami Senior High School in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Frank Dempsey
. Retrieved March 8, 2011. and he played high school football for the Miami Stingarees.

College career

Dempsey attended the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Raymond Wolf's Florida Gators football team from 1946 to

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 180 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011. He was a standout lineman on offense and defense for the Gators at the lowest point in the history of their football program, ironically dubbed the "Golden Era" by the players. Dempsey graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1950, and he was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1971. Dempsey was remembered as a good-natured mischief maker and for the pranks and activities of his teammates that revolved around his World War II-era

surplus Surplus may refer to: * Economic surplus, one of various supplementary values * Excess supply, a situation in which the quantity of a good or service supplied is more than the quantity demanded, and the price is above the equilibrium level determ ...

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

.Jack Hairston, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois, pp. 160–167 (2002).

Professional career

The Chicago Bears selected Dempsey in the thirteenth round (166th pick overall) of the 1950 NFL Draft, and he played in thirty-nine games for the Bears from to .National Football League, Historical Players
Frank Dempsey
Retrieved March 8, 2011. He was a versatile player, and at different times, he played both offense and defense, including linebacker, guard and

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

. Dempsey played his final two professional seasons in the CFL, first for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1954 and the first part of 1955, and then for the Ottawa Rough Riders during the latter part of the 1955 season.CFLapedia.com, Players A–Z
Frank Dempsey
Retrieved April 27, 2011. He was selected as a CFL East All-Star in the first CFL All-Star Game in 1955.

Life after football

After Dempsey's professional football career ended, he remained in Canada and became the owner of a successful fire arms and sporting goods store. In retirement, he lived in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of t ...

, where he died June 1, 2013. Frank Dempsey
" ''The Peterborough Examiner'' (June 4, 2013). Retrieved September 11, 2013.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Frank 1925 births 2013 deaths American football defensive linemen American football linebackers American football offensive linemen Chicago Bears players Florida Gators football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Ottawa Rough Riders players Players of American football from Miami Sportspeople from Dothan, Alabama Miami Senior High School alumni Players of Canadian football from Miami